


Don't Tap On The Glass

by Mr Son (MrSon)



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 09:09:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4095214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrSon/pseuds/Mr%20Son
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rythian discovers Lalnable in the process of escaping Yoglabs, and isn’t about to leave anyone in that horrible place. Even someone like that.</p><p>(Note to the Yogscast: Do not read any of my fics on stream.)<br/>(I do not support the Yogscast company. I write because I enjoy the characters.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [Also available on Tumblr](http://dreadlord-mr-son.tumblr.com/tagged/don%27t-tap-on-the-glass).
> 
> Updates _will_ be slow.

=== === ===

The air ducts were ridiculously large, and Rythian was grateful for this as he crept through them. The dust was thick, and sprinkled with dead bugs, and he had to keep stopping to fight a sneeze back before he could give away his position. He'd been crawling for what felt like hours, now. If the staff hadn't noticed that his cell was empty yet, they would soon.

He was just stopping at a grate to check his position, when someone on the other side started singing.

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes:"

Rythian slipped a finger into the grate and gently wiggled the adjustable slats a bit wider. Peering through, he found himself looking at a glass wall, behind which was a huge room with a glass cube in the middle. Inside the cube was a blond man in a lab coat, singing loudly while lying on the floor of his cell. Rythian felt a stab of ludicrous jealousy at how nicely-furnished this man's cell was, when Rythian had been locked in a concrete box with a hole in the floor for a toilet.

Rythian quickly pushed the feeling aside. No amount of nice furniture made up for being a captive of this place. A quick glance to the top of the glass box showed the location of another air vent grate. It was high enough that it wouldn't be reachable even by stacking all the furniture, but Rythian had found a rope during his sneaking about, and he made his way to the fork in the vent that would lead him over the glass cell.

The singing was certainly getting on his nerves by the time he reached the grate over the cell and gave a quiet knock on the metal. The man lifted a hand and gave a slight wave, but continued singing. Rythian knocked again, slightly louder.

The man, still singing, pried himself off the floor. He raised a hand in the direction of the vent and- yes, he was flipping Rythian off. His other hand went to his face, and he held a finger in front of his lips. His continued maximum-volume singing damaged the impact of the shush gesture, but Rythian obeyed, quietly waiting for the man to finish.

After a few minutes, the man quieted, and looked up towards the vent. He cocked an eyebrow and gave a quick "come on" gesture. Rythian pulled out the wrench he'd stolen and began bending the slats of the vent out of his way.

The metal creaked and whined, but not loudly enough that Rythian worried about it. Once it was wide enough that he could get an arm out, he switched the wrench for a screwdriver and started working on unscrewing the vent cover. When the vent was open, Rythian dropped his rope down, and braced himself against the walls of the vent.

"Ready." Rythian murmured, and suddenly he was fighting to keep in place as the man began climbing up.

The man struggled getting into the hole, which was much narrower than the vents themselves, and Rythian grabbed his arm and pulled him through. The man flopped onto his back in the dust and took a moment to catch his breath. After a couple minutes, he propped himself onto his elbow and grinned at Rythian.

"If I'd stopped singing right away, they would have noticed. So what's the plan?"

Rythian shook his head. "I'm still figuring that out. Who are you?"

The man snorted, sending a dust cloud scattering around Rythian's knees. "I'm a failed clone of Duncan Lalna. They call me Lalnable."

Rythian raised an eyebrow at the phrasing, but didn't comment, instead saying "Rythian" while he wrapped the rope back around his waist for later. "I'm trying to find an exit. Do you have an idea which direction the outside is in?"

Lalnable shook his head. "They move me every time I make an escape attempt, to prevent me from memorizing the layout around my cell."

Rythian nodded, and turned back towards the fork he'd came from. "We'll continue this way then, for lack of a better option."

"Works for me."

\--- --- ---

Rythian didn't know how long they'd been crawling through the vents, but both their stomachs were grumbling, and he thought he could smell apples nearby.

"Left." Lalnable murmured behind him, and Rythian took the left fork without question. The detour was quickly rewarded when the next vent they came across looked over a tiny kitchen, with a bowl of apples on the counter, and no one in sight.

"Ah, I thought that last room looked familiar." Lalnable shoved into Rythian with his shoulder as he peered out the vent. "I came here about... hm, seven escapes back? They don't come this way often -- I actually managed to get a few hours sleep on the floor here."

"We're not trying that." Rythian shoved Lalnable back, making room for him to work the vent off. Once it was free, he slipped down into the room. "Stay there."

"Of course." Lalnable agreed readily.

Rythian handed the bowl of apples up into the vent, then cracked the fridge open. There were a few beverages, which he set on the counter, someone's sack lunch, and half a cabbage which was going brown at the edges. A quick check of the cupboards revealed that this was the only food in the kitchen. Rythian passed everything up to Lalnable, and was about to climb back up, when the door opened.

The guard and Rythian stared at each other for a moment. Rythian broke the spell by struggling to haul himself into the vent. The guard brought up one of his guns, and Rythian flinched as a tranq dart bounced off the metal next to his head.

A hand hit Rythian in the face, and he was shoved back out of the vent to the floor. There was a sharp stab in his arm as a second dart struck true, and the guard slowly stepped towards him, gun trained on his chest.

"Don't move!"

Rythian growled, but stayed flat on the floor. He wanted to get up and fight, but the tranq was making him woozy, and he didn't want to risk cracking his head on a counter, or getting shot again and getting an overdose. More than anything, he wanted to curse out Lalnable -- the traitor!

Rythian's vision faded away as the drugs spread through his system, and the last thing he knew was the discomfort of being slung over the guard's shoulder.

\--- --- ---

Rythian came to on the floor of his cold concrete cell. They'd had the decency to drop him on top of his blanket instead of straight onto the ground, but all the items he'd stolen while he was out had, of course, been taken.

He shakily pushed himself up. He still felt wobbly from the after-effects of the drugs, and he didn't try to stand yet. There was a paper a few feet away on the floor, and he reached over to pick it up.

[You're rather prone to making bad decisions, aren't you? If you can't behave during meal times, I'm afraid you won't be able to have them as often as before. Perhaps you'll think better of it the next time you're considering acting out.]

Rythian growled and jammed the note down his toilet hole.

"Ah, you're awake."

Rythian jumped, then turned his face up to the vent at the top of his cell. Behind the slats, Lalnable gave him a little wave. "Why are you here?"

"You'll have to give me a moment." Lalnable replied cheerfully, "I'm afraid I haven't quite got the knack of removing these vents that you have. Would you believe that in all my escape attempts, I hadn't actually tried using the vent system yet? I underestimated their spaciousness. They're quite roomy, aren't they? I suppose this facility does need a lot of air moved. Have you seen the lower levels yet? They're quite- Ah, there we go."

Lalnable dropped the vent cover down for Rythian to catch, then lowered a rope. Rythian waited a moment to let Lalnable brace himself, then grabbed the rope and pulled himself upright. "Give me a few moments."

"Sure."

Rythian scoffed at the cheer in Lalnable's voice, then stood and willed his legs to steady underneath him. Once he felt a little more controlled, he started working his way up into the vent.

Once inside, Rythian scowled at Lalnable. "You betrayed me."

Lalnable didn't even look up from gathering the rope again. "Nonsense. If you'd made it back inside, the guard would have seen me, and we'd both have been captured. Then how could I be here rescuing you?"

Rythian scowled harder and searched for a counter-argument. His thoughts were immediately interrupted by an apple being stuck in front of his face.

"You're probably still hungry, so here. Sorry I ate the sandwich while I was waiting for you to wake up."

Rythian accepted the apple, but didn't take a bite. "Shouldn't we leave the area before we sit down for lunch?"

Lalnable shook his head. "No one's around. I listened in as they talked about their plans for you. They're not even going to bother checking on you until tomorrow."

Lalnable's grin was toothy, and Rythian almost felt like returning it. "So they won't notice that I'm missing again." He took a bite of the apple. It was slightly underripe, but on his empty stomach, it was delicious.

"Right!" Lalnable bumped Rythian's shoulder with his own. "They'll notice I'm gone before they notice you are. And trust me, I'm a way bigger priority than some guy they shoved in the crap containment units."

Rythian raised an eyebrow, but continued eating his apple in silence.

After his apple and a few gulps from one of the sodas Lalnable had kept, they started out through the air ducts again.

"Where did you get into the ducts from the first time?" Lalnable asked quietly while they were passing an empty hall.

Rythian muttered back, "Back the other way, in the bathrooms."

"Classic."

They turned a corner and heard footsteps passing nearby, and went quiet and still. Once the steps had faded, they continued crawling in silence.

As they passed through a room lit with artificial sunlight, with an actual grass floor and cows in small individual pens, Lalnable spoke up, "I know this place."

"Where are we?"

"In the genetics labs. I think I know the direction the exit is from here." Lalnable gestured towards the side of the duct. "We'll probably need to leave the vents to get there."

Rythian shook his head. "Not yet."

Unfortunately, not much further down the duct, the passage abruptly turned away from the direction Lalnable had indicated. One of the nearby vents opened into a dusty storage room, and Lalnable tilted his head towards it questioningly.

"Fine." Rythian grumbled, pushing Lalnable aside to start prying to vent cover off.

The shelf under the vent made a decent make-shift ladder as they climbed down into the room. The boxes were all caked in a thick layer of dust, and while the floor's layer was thinner, it was still clear that no one had entered this room in a long time.

Rythian pressed his ear to the door, and failing to hear anything on the other side, tried the knob. It turned easily, but when Rythian tried pulling, the door resisted the force stubbornly. Pushing didn't result in any better a result, and Rythian stepped back, bracing himself to ram it open.

Lalnable stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "It's probably just stuck." He pointed to the hinges on the inside of the frame. "We've got a screwdriver, we can just take the door down."

Rythian nodded, and waited for Lalnable to get out the tool. Instead, Lalnable sat himself down on the floor.

"This is a good time for a nap, don't you think?"

"What?" Rythian scowled. "No. In the middle of the labs? When they could notice you're missing at any moment and sound the alarm?"

Lalnable pulled off his labcoat and shook some of the dust out, clouding up the room for a moment before it settled. "In a room no one goes in, before they notice we're missing. We'll want to be rested when we get out, so we have time to get as far from the labs as possible. You've had a few hours unconscious, but I haven't slept since yesterday."

Rythian blinked as Lalnable folded up the coat and dropped it onto the floor. "Why not?"

Lalnable looked at him with an expression that showed he really wasn't impressed with Rythian's intellect. Well, at least that feeling was mutual, Rythian thought.

"I'd been up for most of the day when you found me, and then we spent hours in the ducts before you got captured. And after you were captured, I had to find which block of low-level containment you were in, and then wait for you to wake up. You should check the clocks more often."

Rythian growled for a moment, then deflated. "Very well, we'll stop so you can sleep."

"Thanks." Lalnable dropped his head onto the folded lab coat, and patted the floor beside him. "Come on, you're more rested then me, but you need your sleep too."

Rythian sighed, but lowered himself down next to Lalnable. He almost got back up when Lalnable's arm wrapped around him.

"We don't have any blankets," Lalnable explained, pulling Rythian against his side, "so settle down and we can keep each other warm."

Rythian considered arguing, but he couldn't deny that the air in the room was as chilly as the rest of the facility, and he'd left his blanket behind in his cell. Perhaps he should have brought it with them, but he hadn't thought that far ahead. He was going to blame the lack of foresight on still being under the effects of the tranq he'd been shot with.

Rythian relaxed in Lalnable's arms, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

=== === ===


	2. Chapter 2

=== === ===

Rythian suspected that he was dreaming, because all the guards chasing him through the Yoglabs corridors had his own face. Though considering some of the other things he'd seen in this pit, he couldn't entirely discount the possibility that it was real.

The blaring alarms almost completely drowned out the footsteps of his pursuers, so when he realized that the sounds were out of sync with their feet, he managed to not feel too embarrassed at how long it had taken him to notice.

With the confirmation that he was almost certainly dreaming, Rythian closed his eyes and pictured the ground opening before him, and he felt himself falling into nothingness. His stomach jumped into his throat, and his whole body twitched. The world snapped into existence around him, and he opened his eyes slowly, and with difficulty. They felt caked in grime, and he reached up with one hand to rub the crusty dust and sleep dirt away from them. The floor under his chest was warm with his own body heat, and the air in the room felt stuffy and heavy. Though, not as heavy as the arm wrapped around his waist. His shirt had hiked up in his sleep, leaving his skin exposed to the face that was pressed into it, soft snoring breaths tickling against his lower back.

The alarms were still going off, and under them he could make out footsteps running past on the other side of the door, just starting to fade out as they left the area.

Rythian wiggled his half-numb arm out from beneath his stomach, then turned over onto his back before reaching down to unwrap the arm from his waist.

Lalnable let out a sleepy, puzzled whine as Rythian untangled himself and sat up, but didn't actually wake.

_How can he sleep through this noise?_ Rythian snorted at his own thought. _I was sleeping through it pretty peacefully myself for a while there._

"Wake up!" Rythian's voice was sharp, but low. He wasn't sure how well sound could travel through the door, and he didn't want to find out by catching someone's attention. He shook Lalnable's shoulder. "The alarm's gone off!"

Quiet snores faded into a confused mumble, then Lalnable rolled over and began pushing himself to his feet. "Okay, yeah. I'm up. Ugh, that's loud."

Rythian busied himself with pulling his shirt back into something approaching its proper fit. Not that it was small enough to do anything but hang loosely over his underfed frame, but he felt better once he was fully covered again. From the way Lalnable was pulling on his lab coat after shaking the dust from it, he felt similarly.

Rythian pressed his ear against the door, listening for the distant footsteps. Had they passed far enough to risk leaving the room? He turned to Lalnable to ask for the screwdriver, only to see him pressing his forehead against one of the shelves, his face screwed up in an unpleasant expression.

"Headache?" Rythian asked.

"Yeah." Lalnable followed his answer with an animalistic growl, reminding Rythian that he'd found the man in a secure glass observation containment. What had been done to him in the name of science? What might be wrong with him? ...What kind of danger was Rythian trusting to watch his back?

Rythian shook his head. Those thoughts were useless. _He's already betrayed me once..._ That thought was useless too. "Let's get the door."

"Right." Lalnable shoved himself off the shelf, raising one hand to his temple and rubbing it while the other hand fished in his pockets for the screwdriver.

Rythian pressed his hands against the door, preparing to hold it in place as Lalnable bent down and started unscrewing the hinges. They were caked with greasy dust, and Lalnable cursed and fumbled, but slowly the screws came out, and Rythian leaned into the door as it loosened. The last screw was half-way out when it snapped abruptly. The door lurched in Rythian's hands, and he fell backwards, the door crashing down on top of him with a clatter.

"FUCK!" Lalnable howled, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes, stumbling into the wall.

Rythian shoved the door off of himself, ignoring the second crash as it hit the floor to the side. The guards were sure to have heard that.

"Run!" Rythian grabbed Lalnable's wrist and hauled him towards the door. Rythian was weak with his long captivity and Lalnable was far from a skinny man, so Rythian couldn't actually drag him, but thankfully Lalnable seemed to still have enough of his wits to stagger after Rythian, and they fled down the narrow corridor the room opened into.

"FREEZE!"

Rythian didn't bother glancing over his shoulder. From the shouting and pounding of feet after them, he could tell there were far too many guards to attempt subduing. Besides, these ones might be armed with far more than tranqs.

Ahead of them the corridor split off to either side. A glance in Lalnable's direction showed only gritted teeth and no clue which way might be the better choice. Gunfire sounded behind them, and Rythian almost bit his tongue when a sharp pain dragged across his side. The graze wound pulled as he ran, making him feel like throwing up, but he couldn't stop now.

Lalnable on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas. He spun in place and dropped to the floor. The guards had been faster than them, and now couldn't stop in time to avoid the first of the pack tripping over Lalnable's crouched form.

Lalnable wrenched the fallen guard's gun away and shot him in the head before Rythian could even finish turning to see what had happened.

The other guards -- _There were only five? I thought there were more!_ \-- were turning their guns from Rythian to Lalnable, and Rythian started running back. _I'm not going to get there in time!_

Lalnable already had his stolen gun in the second guard's face. "Be _quiet!_ " he snarled as he pulled the trigger.

Blood bloomed across the side of Lalnable's head as the last three opened fire. Rythian thanked anyone he thought might be listening that they hadn't taken the time to properly aim. The ugly gash he could see through Lalnable's hair was terrifying.

The third guard went down from a shot to the chest. The other two guards were fixing their aim, and Rythian twisted just in time to ram shoulder-first into them as they fired.

The three of them went down in a heap, cursing. Rythian tried to ignore the agony in his left arm. He wasn't sure how severe the hit he'd just taken was, but he couldn't afford to go lightly on it now. He tried to get a good grip on the guard he'd hit, while the second was trying to get out from under the both of them. The guard on the bottom of the pile went still as Lalnable fired again. Without the extra struggling, Rythian managed to get the last guard in a choke hold and held him until he fell unconscious.

Rythian dropped the guard on a free spot of floor and took in a heavy breath before collapsing against the wall, gripping above the bullet wound on his arm. It was bleeding sluggishly, which Rythian was thankful for, but it felt shaky and weak. _Probably damaged the muscle pretty severely._

Rythian looked over to Lalnable, who had pulled out a box cutter and was cutting off part of a dead guard's pants. _Bandages? Good idea._ "We should tie this one up so he can't report back if he wakes up."

Lalnable shook his head. "Waste of rope."

"Well we can't just leave him unrestrained!" Rythian was starting to feel lightheaded, and slowly settled down to sit on the floor.

"Of course we can't." Lalnable picked up his stolen gun again, and fired at the unconscious guard before Rythian could start to push himself back to his feet. "There. Now stop whinging and help me with this before more come and find us still bleeding out on the floor."

Rythian opened his mouth to shout, but immediately snapped it closed again. This was a terrible time to argue ethics, even if his escape partner didn't seem to _have any_. Rythian grit his teeth and reached over to start pulling off the guard's chest armor and expose his shirt.

It took more time than Rythian would have liked to strip all the guards and cut their pants into pieces for bandages, but he had to admit his wounds felt a little better once they were wrapped up.

Lalnable was about to drop the unused shirts, when Rythian reached out and plucked one off the top of the stack. "We might want these later. If we wear them, we don't have to carry them." Rythian pulled the shirt over his head. It wasn't any smaller than the one he was already wearing, but the inner shirt still bunched up underneath. Rythian took a moment to pat them both smooth, then took the lab coat Lalnable thrust at him and held it while Lalnable pulled on two of the others.

After Rythian handed back Lalnable's coat, he considered the two remaining shirts. Too many layers on either of them, and it would restrict motion and hinder their escape. "Can you fit those in your pockets?"

Lalnable felt his pockets briefly. "One of them."

Rythian put on the last shirt, then started pulling himself to his feet. "We should go back into the vents. The passageways will be full of more guards, and they've weakened us now."

Lalnable nodded. "It will take longer that way. Let's bring something to eat with us."

"What? Where do you think we can get food around-" Rythian felt bile rise in his throat as Lalnable sank his box cutter into a guard's thigh and began slicing out a large chunk of flesh. "No."

Lalnable looked up at him, blinking with a lie of an innocent expression. "What? Do you want to die of starvation in the walls? We need to keep fed."

Rythian kicked the box cutter out of Lalnable's hand. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Lalnable grabbed at the wrist Rythian had kicked, and grinned up at him, his jaw tight. "I don't think we've got time for me to go over the list right now. How about after we get out of here?"

For the first time, Rythian wondered if perhaps Lalnable _did_ deserve to be left in this place. He shoved that thought down. No one deserved this. _We'll escape, and I'll turn him in to a_ normal jail _. One that doesn't torture people in the name of science._

Rythian grabbed Lalnable's shoulder and tried to haul him to his feet, but found he didn't have the strength left. Lalnable looked up at him, then stood on his own and threw his arm over Rythian's shoulder. Rythian tensed under the touch.

"Come on, let's go find a new vent."

Rythian allowed himself to be led down the corridor. _Once we get out, I'll make sure you don't have a chance to hurt anyone._

\--- --- ---

Rythian and Lalnable stumbled down the hallways, half-supporting each other as they tried each door they came across, looking for somewhere unlocked.

Rythian felt like he was running on empty. His legs wobbled underneath him, and his vision swam when he moved his head too sharply. _Blood loss._ he told himself, breathing careful, heavy breaths to keep himself from panting.

Lalnable didn't seem like he was much better off. Half his weight was against Rythian's side, his balance clearly shot, and he had his free hand clamped over his eyes. He kept growling about the noise of the alarm, and Rythian remembered the look he'd had when he snarled at that one guard to 'be quiet'.

The bandages they'd wrapped themselves in were already starting to leak. Not heavily, but a single splotch here and there in the hall behind them left an unmistakable trail for security.

They'd been fortunate to not have been spotted yet, but frequent pounding footsteps in hallways parallel to their own, or on the floors overhead, left them feeling hounded.

Rythian almost collapsed in relief as a knob finally turned under his hand. The tiny, dusty storage room waiting beyond the door was so like the one they'd slept in, that for a moment Rythian thought they'd wandered in circles.

"Back here?" Lalnable squinted into the room from between his fingers. "At least we can get into the vents again."

"It's not the same room." The dust was undisturbed, and they'd taken down the door on the other one. Rythan tried to will some of the fogginess out of his head. Why would he have thought it was the same room?

Lalnable had already pried off the vent cover and was reaching out a hand to help Rythian in. Rythian accepted the lift, knowing he wouldn't be able to climb up on his own with his arm weakened and his side torn.

"Think they're going to figure out the air vent trick?" Lalnable gave a shaky laugh, and took a moment to rest his head against the cold metal inside the vent. Rythian scowled down at the smeared blood where the end of his bandage had come loose in the climb and dragged over the edge of the vent opening.

It wouldn't do any good to try and clean up the mess. They didn't have the time or supplies to do a good job. Rythian looked both directions down the vent as he tucked the bandage back into place. "Which way?"

Lalnable straightened out and squinted to the right. "That way... I think." He didn't sound confident in his choice, but frankly, a guess was the best they had at this point. Rythian started crawling forward, holding his injured arm up against his chest. With only one hand, it was slow going, but from the way Lalnable had been swaying, Rythian didn't think they'd be going that fast even if he'd had the use of both arms.

After a little while of crawling, Lalnable started muttering darkly to himself, and Rythian turned back to look at him. "What was that?"

Lalnable gave him a startled look. _Did he not think he was speaking out loud?_

"I said that if we're going to die up here in the ducts, we should at least make out first."

_What?!_ "We're not going to die in here." Rythian wasn't going to address the other half of that statement. "Come on, we have to hurry."

Lalnable sighed. "We're going to die in the walls. Like _rats_. They're going to find our dried out husks next summer when they turn on the cooling. Also, my head is killing me and I think I'm going to throw up soon."

Rythian stared for a moment, then reached over and gently felt Lalnable's head above where the sopping bandage was wrapped. Lalnable winced, but accepted the probing. "How do you feel?" As Lalnable opened his mouth to answer, Rythian added, "Other than the headache."

Lalnable shrugged. "Terrible. I'm having trouble thinking, I lost track of which direction we're going, and my vision is blurring in and out. Also, I think I might throw up soon."

"You mentioned that." Rythian tried to think though the fog that seemed to be slowly overtaking his mind. "I think you might have a concussion." There was something else important about what Lalnable had said. Something about the vents...

Rythian slowly inhaled, as deeply as he could. The air was stale and filled with old dust stirred up by their passage. The disintegrating corpses of long-dead insects added a slightly spicy scent to liven things up. "We need to get out of here. Turn around."

"Right!" Lalnable turned and started crawling the other direction. "Let's get back to somewhere with a little room where we can die more comfortably."

"We're not going to die." Rythian insisted, which felt like a lie with the new worries twisting in his gut. _These vents... I don't think they use them to move air._

A faint scratching sound appeared in the distance, barely noticeable through the alarms. It sounded like rats crawling around on metal. Rythian cursed to himself and stretched out his injured arm to poke at Lalnable's butt in front of him, hissing, "Hurry!"

"Hey, you should save that for when we get back to our little private hideaway!" Lalnable's attempt to sound cheerful was hampered by the noticeable pain in his voice. Rythian tucked his arm back against his chest. He didn't care if Lalnable was kidding or not, this was a terrible time to be flirting. They were in serious trouble right now; they needed to focus.

_Especially since focusing is difficult for both of us right now._ Rythian paused to lean against the side of the vent as his head swam, his vision blurring in and out. _We're not going to die here. We're_ not _. I'm going to get us both out of here alive._

Lalnable reached the hole they'd entered the vents from, and squirmed his way out. After picking himself back off the floor, he helped Rythian climb down.

"So, what do you want to do until they find us and finish the job?" Lalnable asked with a suggestive eyebrow waggle that Rythian was not going to acknowledge.

Rythian took the opportunity to lean against the wall and hold himself steady as he concentrated on thinking. _He can't remember which way the exit is, and I never knew... There's been fewer guards than I expected, but I can hear them running and shouting in the distance. Plus there's the matter of that scratching I heard in the vents that_ can't _be just normal rats..._ "Follow me."

Rythian pushed himself off the wall and staggered out into the hallway. On catching sight of what was outside, he froze. Lalnable bumped into his back and almost fell over, catching himself on the doorway.

"What happened here?" Lalnable's voice in Rythian's ear barely registered. The hallway was scattered with corpses, none of them whole. The walls were splattered with blood, and some sort of lumpy green ichor. A steaming chunk of something that might once have been some creature's flesh was stuck to the ceiling like it had been glued there.

_I don't think we're their top priority anymore._ Rythian shook his head. _So many atrocities committed in this place... It's almost nice to see one coming back to haunt them._

"We should get moving." Rythian turned into the hall and started walking, one hand against the wall to brace himself. He ignored the slime his hand picked up as he dragged it along. He needed the support more than he wanted to avoid getting dirtier.

"This is disgusting!" Lalnable sounded like a child who'd caught his first frog. "I don't even know what that is! They've been up to something new in the genetics labs!"

Rythian grit his teeth as they approached an opening into a larger hall, and a wave of stench blew over them. Peering out into the hall, Rythian saw nothing but scattered bodies and, of all things, a handful of hamsters huddling in terror against the far wall.

_I am never going to understand this place._ Rythian carefully peered down both sides of the new hall before stepping out into it. The air blew gently over his skin, and he shivered at the chill. The breeze stank like sewage and death.

Rythian almost jumped as a hand fell onto his shoulder.

Lalnable murmured into his ear, "Think the monster's still around?" It was the first time Rythian had heard honest worry in his voice.

Rythian reached back and rested his hand comfortingly on top of Lalnable's for a moment. "I don't know."

Lalnable nodded and bent down beside the shredded remains of a security guard. It was so dismembered and soaked in green slime that Rythian couldn't even tell if it had been a human or a testificate. Lalnable pried a handgun out from under half a rib cage, and tried to wipe it clean on the spare shirt from his pocket.

"Don't think this will help much, but it makes me feel better."

Rythian nodded, wishing he had his old sword. They'd taken it when they captured him. _And how long ago was that? More than a year, I think. More than two? Maybe. I lost track of time pretty early._ Rythian ignored the urge to go looking for his stolen things. Even if they hadn't been destroyed by now, the facilities were too extensive for Rythian to have a hope of finding them.

Now armed, Lalnable took point without a word. Rythian wasn't sure how much good he'd be with the gun in his condition, but Rythian couldn't honestly say he'd do any better. "Any idea where we are, now?"

Lalnable shrugged. "Maybe, but it's hard to tell. My head is still swimming and I can't remember well. I still say we should just go hide somewhere and have a bit of fun before the end."

Rythian growled, "We're _not_ going to die. Quit talking like that. Wait, stop."

Lalnable stopped just before the four-way fork in the hall. Rythian stared at the colored lines on the floor. They were important... If he could just- "Go right."

Lalnable turned in the direction the lines converged in, and Rythian followed after him. _Color coded hallways -- the one thing I could like about this place._

The front door was almost an anti-climax as it came into view ahead of them. It was hanging off its hinges, and there was a trail of green drops leading through it. Whatever monstrosity had escaped containment had managed to make its way into the outside world.

_Another horror brought to you by SCIENCE™!_ Rythian couldn't stop the brief giggle that escaped. They were almost out!

The sound of running feet approached from behind, and Rythian bolted for the door without turning to look. Lalnable stumbled after him. Rythian heard Lalnable fire his gun, and he whipped to the left as soon as he was out the door, pressing himself on the outer wall of the building. As Lalnable ran past him, Rythian reached out and grabbed his labcoat, pulling Lalnable against his chest and slamming a hand over his mouth.

Three guards burst out of the door after them, and stopped to look around for the escapees. They didn't have long to look, as the giant glowing serpent that was licking its wounds in front of the building reared up its head and snapped down at them, biting one of them in half. One guard fired her gun into its face and ran back inside while it was still shaking its head in surprise, but the last guard tried to stand his ground. The monster unfolded long, skeletal arms from its sides and picked him up, pulling an arm and a leg in separate directions until the guard, unable to even get a breath to scream, was torn in half. Organs spilled out of the severed halves, and the monster licked briefly at the blood before casting the parts aside and slinking off towards the treeline.

Rythian tried to keep his breaths slow and quiet, but he could feel himself getting dizzy, his vision starting to fade out. His hand slipped from Lalnable's face, and he began slumping down the wall, his legs refusing his attempts to keep him upright. "Lalna..."

Arms wrapped around his waist, and he felt himself being clumsily pulled over a warm shoulder. "I've got you."

Rythian surrendered himself to the darkness.

=== === ===


	3. Chapter 3

=== === ===

Rythian felt like he was wrapped in clouds. Everything was soft, and fluffy, and damp, and cold.

Voices drifted around him, muffled and unintelligible. He could feel himself being pulled towards them, and he tried to roll over and bury himself deeper into the clouds. He hadn't been this comfortable in... he couldn't remember. So very long. He wasn't ready to be pulled away yet.

A heavy weight pressed down on his chest, preventing him from moving. He tried to struggle, but he was frozen in place, pinned by an unknown force. One of the voices floated closer, and a hand appeared in front of him, wreathed in flame. It pressed against his forehead and he couldn't even open his mouth to scream as his face lit on fire.

Rythian woke to see a concerned-looking testificate leaning over him, pulling their hand back with a frown, their unusually high-pitched voice colored by a thick accent Rythian was unfamiliar with. "I believe he is awake this time."

"You sure?" Lalnable's face appeared behind the testificate. He had some sort of cloth package tied to the side of his head, over the top of fresh bandages. It was slowly dripping water, and he had a soaked patch down the front of his shoulder.

"He may have been visited by a hag." the testificate said, "Give him a few moments for his strength to return to him."

"Visited by... a hag?" Rythian's mouth felt dried out and tacky, and his voice was thin and weak. He winced and struggled to get a hand out from under the heavy blankets he was wrapped in, and flopped it over his eyes to shield himself from the glare of the lantern hanging from the ceiling.

"Sleep paralysis." the testificate clarified, "My people, they would say if a cruel and wicked person died of old age without ever facing justice or recanting their actions, they might live on after death as a spirit that would hold you down in your sleep and steal your mind. If you found no way to ward off the ghost, you would eventually go insane."

At Lalnable's snort, the testificate chuckled. "My apologies. I am used to putting on the show of being a bit of a mystic for the other villagers." The testificate turned their attention back to Rythian. "Please if you would, describe how you feel so I might know if my treatment has been helping. Then I may tell if it would do you well to spare a healing potion on you."

Rythian wiggled his fingers, and closed his eyes under his arm as he tried to get a solid sense of his body. "Tired. Cold. Dizzy. Nauseous. Thirsty." He slowly lowered his arm and squinted up at the testificate. "My vision isn't swimming any more."

The testificate nodded. "That is very good. You lost a great deal of blood, but I do not believe you have injured your head like your friend has. It will be safe to allow you a potion." The testificate turned away towards an array of shelves on the far wall.

Lalnable leaned forward, a drop of water hitting Rythian in the neck. Rythian hissed at the jolt of ice, and Lalnable reared back again. "Oh right, forgot about that."

"Lalna, where...?" Rythian's throat closed up on him. _Where are we? How did we get here?_

"We're at one of the villages near the labs, where the workers live." Lalnable glanced over at the testificate, who had picked up, examined, and replaced the same green jar twice now. "He found me carrying you through the woods and offered to help us out. Said his name is Weyl."

 _I suspect Weyl is going to be taking their time getting that potion._ Rythian smiled faintly up at Lalnable. "Water?"

"Think you can sit up?" Lalnable was already reaching for Rythian's shoulders, helping pull him upright, braced against the wall behind the bed. Once Rythian was steadied, Lalnable plucked a glass off a tiny table nearby and passed it over.

Rythian's hands were shaking slightly, but he managed to not spill more than a couple drops as he brought the water to his face and sipped carefully at it. He wanted to gulp down the whole cup immediately, but knew if he tried he'd only throw up and lose it all.

The water was lukewarm, but each swallow felt like it was washing dust out of Rythian's chest, and from the chill sunk into his bones, Rythian didn't think he'd have appreciated anything colder.

Lalnable reached up towards his head, stopping with a blink as his fingers smacked into his ice pack. He lowered his hand sheepishly. “It itches.” he explained with a shrug, settling his hands back onto his lap. After a few moments of quiet while Rythian sipped his water, Lalnable added, “I’m not supposed to scratch it.”

“Hm.” Rythian acknowledged, he glanced over at Weyl, who paused in their picking at bottles to give a brief nod. “Has your head been alright?”

Lalnable scowled. “Not really. Well, it’s better than it was, at least.” He lowered his hand from going to scratch again. “He wouldn’t give me anything for it.”

“My potions are not suitable for head injuries.” Weyl said over their shoulder. They plucked a tiny bottle from an open box at hip height and strode over to the bed. “Also, you refused to drink the tea I gave you, which would have reduced your pain.”

Lalnable’s face wrinkled up. “That stuff was disgusting. I’ll take the head pounding.”

Weyl shrugged. “As you wish.” They dropped the tiny red bottle onto Rythian’s lap. “This will not replenish your lost blood, but it will heal over your wounds so you do not lose more. You should probably save some of your water to wash it down. I’ve been told it is not much improved in flavor over my medicinal teas.”

Rythian sighed and passed his glass to Lalnable, before popping the cork on the bottle and, with a murmured “thank you”, he swallowed the potion.

Lalnable leaned in, eyes wide and curious, like he was looking forward to Rythian’s disgusted reaction.

Rythian was happy to disappoint. “It’s not as bad as the last experiment I was force-fed. Water, please.”

Lalnable handed the water back with a pout. “I’m going to make Weyl give you some of his painkiller tea.”

“You will not.” Weyl gave Lalnable a light pat on the shoulder. “Unless you would like your friend to bleed out; that tea thins the blood.”

Lalnable’s eyes lit up with excitement for a moment, then his shoulders slumped. “No... I like Rythian. I shouldn’t kill him just because it would be fun to watch.”

Rythian froze for a moment as he remembered just how creepy his escape partner was, then sipped at his water to keep himself from saying anything.

Once Rythian finished the glass, he set it on his lap with the empty potion bottle and addressed Weyl, “Do we owe you anything?”

“You do not.” Weyl settled themself into a chair at the foot of the bed. "My family moved here from the southern continent many years ago. They came for jobs and hope of new opportunities." Weyl's eyes closed, a brief flash of pain passing over their face. "I am the only one left. That place... it eats people. It is payment enough to see someone slip out from between its teeth." Weyl leaned back in the chair, scratching the side of their long nose absently. "Besides, where there is no payment, there is no _evidence_ , yes? It is best for me to be charitable in this case, you see?"

Rythian slowly nodded. "Yes." _If anyone questions you, you're going to claim we were thieves who took your supplies in the night. I don't like being passed off as a criminal, but it will help you avoid getting in trouble on our behalf._ "How soon should we leave?"

Lalnable dragged a chair of his own over to the bed and dropped down onto it. “Not too soon, please? My head is going to be killing me for days and we don’t really know where we’d be going anyway.”

“I’m afraid you will have to leave sooner than any of us would prefer.” Weyl steepled their hands in front of their chin and propped one foot up on the other knee. “It is not that I believe you will be easily found. Their security, it should not have an easy time finding your trail in the woods. The creature that aided your escape seems to have caused a great deal of destruction in its haste to leave the area.”

“The serpent.” Rythian’s throat felt dry again. “Did... you lose anyone?”

"No." Weyl shook his head. "All living here have all learned when to stay indoors, if there has been trouble from that place. The creature passed us by without event. I do believe that all its concern was taken with escape, and that it had no more intention to harm our small village than either of yourselves." Weyl's gaze settled on Lalnable with a careful lack of expression.

Lalnable’s own expression flattened. “Right.” His voice was relaxed, but his hand dropped onto Rythian’s shoulder heavily, and squeezed almost enough to hurt. “No harm intended here.”

Weyl inclined their head. "I did not believe you did, but it is good to have your word on the matter."

A heavy silence descended, and Rythian reached up to pry Lalnable’s hand off. Lalnable jolted at the touch and he straightened abruptly, turning away. “I’ll go get more water.”

Lalnable started towards some stairs that led up out of what was presumably the basement. Just he was beginning to walk up, the door at the top slammed open.

Lalnable collapsed to the floor with a cry, hands clamped over his ears. Weyl sprung up and pressed a hand to Rythian’s chest, holding him to the mattress as three armored figures stormed down the stairs. The two women stepped over Lalnable and marched towards Weyl, while the testificate stood over Lalnable’s curled form and prodded him in the side with the toe of their boot.

Rythian stopped struggling against Weyl’s hold, and Weyl stood up and turned to face the women. “Welcome to my home. I apologize for not coming to the door, I did not hear your knock. Is there a medical concern you need me for?”

The older of the two stifled her snicker before it could fully develop, while her partner only scowled up at Weyl disapprovingly. The testificate prodded at Lalnable again, then -- as Lalnable failed to uncurl -- shrugged and pointed their gun at him absently while looking over to see how their partners were handling things.

The older woman gestured towards Rythian with her empty hand, lowering the gun she held in the other. “We’re here to collect some experiments that escaped from the labs. Please step aside. They are more dangerous than they appear, and should be returned to secure containment.”

Weyl slowly lifted their hand up to scratch their nose. “I hope you find these experiments of yours. It would truly be a sad thing if the labs’ creations were to become loose in our poor village.”

The woman’s expression flickered, as if she wanted to smile and wouldn’t allow it. “Cute. You’re well aware I mean these two sorry specimens here. Please step aside or we will have to use force.”

Weyl released a dramatic sigh, slowly looked over their shoulder at Rythian, then back at the woman. She quirked an eyebrow, and Weyl began shuffling aside at the speed of a distracted glacier.

The woman smirked, tapping her fingers against her gun, seeming content to be patient as long as Weyl was obeying her. Her younger partner continued her impression of the world’s angriest statue, while the testificate stood loosely in the back, gun aimed somewhere in Lalnable’s general vicinity while he groaned on the floor, still curled up and holding his head.

A door upstairs slammed with enough force that the lantern hanging from the ceiling shook, and Lalnable began whimpering and swearing, curling tighter and pressing his back against the wall.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?!”

The shout carried easily over Lalnable’s cussing. The two women’s guns snapped to Rythian as he began pushing himself off the bed. He froze, staring up at the muzzles warily.

“WE CAN’T DAWDLE AROUND IN PEOPLE’S BASEMENTS. GET BACK UP HERE.”

“SIR.” the older woman called back upstairs, “WE FOUND SOME ESCAPEES.”

A head poked through the door, and Rythian tensed, his face twisting into a snarl.

“What?” Xephos glanced over the scene. “Oh, those two.”

Lalnable snarled and started to sit up, but the testificate guarding him poked him lazily in the face with their gun, and he settled back down to the floor, slipping a hand over his eyes with a pained groan.

“We have them contained and ready for recapture.”

Xephos scowled, folding his arms over his chest. “No, we’re not going to bother with this. When you discover your rubbish hauling itself to the bin for you, you don’t waste time dragging it home again. Come on, we’ve got a monster to find.” Xephos turned sharply, and vanished through the door.

“Sir.” The women saluted and lowered their guns. The testificate gave Lalnable one last boot poke, and they all followed their boss out of the basement.

Rythian slipped out of bed, holding the bedside table to keep his balance as his legs wobbled under him. Weyl was already at Lalnable’s side with a glass of swampy-looking liquid.

Lalnable took Weyl’s offered hand and pulled himself up, sitting back against the stairs and grabbing for the drink. He only paused his cursing long enough to gulp it down with a shudder and a look of disgust.

Weyl stood and turned back to Rythian. “Unless you are planning to use the private facilities, I would advise laying back down.”

“No.” Rythian shook his head. “We can’t stay now. Xephos knows we’re here. He says we’re not worth capturing, but that’s just because he thinks we’re not going anywhere.”

“I will not stop you.” Weyl shrugged. “I need only wait until you fall at the border of our village, then return you here.”

Rythian clenched his teeth and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked over at Lalnable. “Are you alright?”

Lalnable’s cut off his cussing. “I’ll live. But don’t raise your voice or I’ll kill you.”

Rythian grimaced and nodded.

Weyl looked between them, then nodded as well. “I’ll bring you both some water.” They tapped Lalnable gently on the shoulder to grab his attention. “Once you feel you are able, please come help me to bring a cot downstairs. You will both want to sleep soon and we will need to make an extra bed.”

“Sure.” Lalnable muttered. Weyl smiled down at him, then started up the stairs.

“I’m not tired.” Rythian grumbled, still wired and on edge from the stand off.

Weyl paused at the top of the stairs. “You will be soon.” They closed the door gently behind them.

\--- --- ---

Rythian settled himself into the chair at the kitchen table with a groan. He was echoed by Lalnable, whose face was pressed against the cool wood of the table’s surface. Next to Lalnable’s head there was the tink of glass as Weyl placed a cup of tea down.

“This is a different mixture than what you had last night.” Weyl promised, patting Lalnable on the shoulder, “It is much weaker, but the flavor is not so strong.”

Lalnable raised his head to take a sip. He grimaced, but continued drinking as Weyl puttered around the kitchen, finishing their breakfast preparations. Rythian watched Weyl zip around, chopping some crisp, unrecognizable vegetable up and tossing it into a bowl of soup, pouring a glass of something reddish and muddy looking, pulling a box of cereal out of a cupboard...

Lalnable perked up. "Is that ChocoGravel?"

"Coco Stone Bitez." Weyl corrected. Lalnable didn't seem at all disappointed by the idea of getting the generic brand. His eyes tracked the box as Weyl poured a bowl.

Weyl passed Lalnable some silverware, then set the bowl down in front of him. Lalnable started shovelling cereal into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in a week.

 _Neither of us got much to eat yesterday_. Rythan reminded himself. Lalnable rolled a spoonful of cereal over his tongue and moaned in a way Rythian thought was incredibly indecent. He averted his eyes to watch Weyl bring over the soup.

"Eat as much as you can." Weyl set a fork and spoon beside the bowl. "This is very high in iron. It will help you replenish your blood supply."

Rythian dipped the spoon in the soup and brought it up for a sniff. The smell was aggressive, but not unpleasant, and when he took a sip, the taste reminded him of a particular type of shelf mushroom someone had given him once. He couldn't quite remember who. A woman? It wasn't important right now.

When Rythian had finished his soup, and Lalnable was most of the way through his second bowl of cereal, Weyl folded their hands before themself on the table.

"I'm afraid that there is a problem. You will not be able to stay here as long as I would like."

Rythian paused midway through taking a sip of his muddy drink. Lalnable's spoon tapped lightly against the table as he set it down.

"What's the problem?" Lalnable asked, at the same time as Rythian said, "How much time do we have?"

"You must leave tomorrow morning." Weyl sighed. "I would have prefered to keep you for a week, as you," they nodded to Rythian, "are still weak from your injuries and you," a glance at Lalnable, "might still show more symptoms. Head injuries sometimes hide their effects for some time after the initial damage." Weyl rubbed their forehead and frowned. "But many of the villagers here, they have decided to hold you at fault for the attention that was brought down on us yesterday. They did not see the creature. They do not understand that you were not the cause of the search. And it has been ordered that you must leave. That you even have today to prepare, is only because I and my apprentice have bought the time for you."

Rythian nodded. "Thank you. We don't really have anything to prepare, so we can leave today." He hurried to finish the rest of his drink. The taste was not improved by heavy gulping, but he knew he'd need whatever medicine had probably been mixed into it.

"You are not leaving until the morning." Weyl pressed a hand flat against the table, leaning their weight firmly onto it as if that would add the weight to their words as well. "You may have nothing to your names, but I must pack my travel bags, and that will take the entire evening even for a short trip under a light load."

"What?" Rythian slammed his empty glass back onto the table, ignoring Lalnable's kick to his shin. "No, you don't have to come with us! We can manage on our own." Weyl's expression was unimpressed, but Rythian continued, "You shouldn't get involved with this. You should be taking care of people who need you, not us."

Weyl was scowling now. Rythian felt he'd gotten his point across, though. He sat back and tried to convey his disapproval entirely through his eyes.

Weyl sighed and rubbed their forehead. "Still, I will travel with you. Close your mouth. You will not convince me to do otherwise. I have chosen to care for you, and I will not give up on that simply because you fail to understand your medical needs. I will be with you for the next two weeks, and since it cannot be done in my home, it will have to be done on the road. Now."

Weyl pulled a large, folded paper out of a pocket Rythian hadn't noticed before, and spread it on the table. It was a map of what Rythian presumed was the local region. The south and west sides of the map were cut off by winding coastline, hinting that beyond the depicted edges was nothing but ocean. There were a few colored marks scattered here and there on the land, like someone had been taking notes directly onto the map. Weyl's finger landed beside one of the blue ones.

"This is the village we are in. My advice would be to follow this trade road south," his finger traced over a thick line heading for a yellow mark on the coast, "to Cowhe's Bay, and take a ship to the southern continent, from which my family hailed. That place does not yet have much presence in those lands. You may find safety there, of a sort." Weyl sighed. "It is not what it once was, this is true. The fall of magic was hard on the peoples there, and my parents' country was not spared the trouble that came. But I would be grateful if you would go, and warn the people that it is not better here. That they should work to improve their home, instead of seeking shelter in the viper's den."

Rythian leaned down over the map, following roads with a finger and examining terrain markers. "The border is closer to the northeast. Why not go there? Especially considering this pass." Rythian pointed to a long mountain range, where Weyl's desired path cut through at a narrow stretch. "If we're doing as badly as you seem to think we are, why take us over the mountains?"

Weyl shook their head. "That is not a country you would want to enter, if you knew more of it. The three kings who rule there are... mad. And cruel. Is it better than that place? I could not say. But I will not send you there." Weyl tapped the map again. "Cowhe's Bay sees many travelers through its port. Most are coming north, they do not see many going the other way, but there are enough that they should ask few awkward questions. Especially if I send you with medicines they can trade with the peoples of the south for spices and goods which are far more valuable here. Did you know that in my parents' country, there are places where you can gather a cubic meter of ender's tongue blossoms over the course of a single late summer's day?"

Rythian glanced to the dried sprigs of herbs hanging in the window over the sink. He could remember the fading warmth of the setting sun on his back as he hunted along the edge of the forest, trying to find one last blossom for the spell he had planned. He could see his own hands carefully mincing flowers to scatter into the bubbling cauldron as he stirred. A floating image drifted through his mind, of a single magenta petal glued to a microscope slide with a drop of water. He shook his head to banish the memories.

Lalnable squinted, leaning in and running his finger up and down the road between the village and the port. "What's the scale on this map?"

Weyl shrugged. "I would not be able to give you the centimeters to kilometers ratio. Trust me in that it will take about two weeks of travel. Were you healthier, it could take several days less, but I will insist on frequent rest. You will not be saved by riding yourself to illness."

"Hm." Lalnable reached up to scratch at his head, yanking his arm back down when his fingers touched the bandage there. "And that means two weeks you'll be able to keep an eye on us and make sure we're healing." He scratched at his beard instead, more restlessly than as if it itched. "And we'll be two weeks travel away from the village when you leave us to ourselves."

Weyl almost smiled. "I will not deny that being part of my thinking. But additionally, you will be two weeks further from that place."

Lalnable nodded. "Sounds good to me. I'm sold. Rythian?"

"Alright." Rythian stared down at the small yellow dot at the bottom of the map, and the thin strip of water signifying the beginning of an ocean that would guard their freedom once they had crossed it. "Let's go south."

=== === ===


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [allthe-lights-inthe-sky](http://allthe-lights-inthe-sky.tumblr.com/), [stripminer14](http://stripminer14.tumblr.com/), and my mother for prereading this chapter and helping me edit.

=== === ===

Rythian sat in an ancient, worn, plastic chair on Weyl's porch, watching the two testificates load up a pair of fat, placid mules with boxes and bags, while a third mule chewed in lazy boredom at the wood post it was tied to. Weyl's apprentice was a fairly small, skinny type. Mid to late adolescence, Rythian would guess. They had been introduced as Banda, and they hadn't said a word to either of the humans since they showed up for work that morning; they spoke in soft murmurs to Weyl only when Rythian was far enough away that he couldn't make out the words.

Lalnable was inside, lying in a dark room with a cold cloth over his face, trying to secure as much ease for his pounding head as possible before he was forced to go walking out in the sun all day. Rythian had been advised to follow Lalnable's example, but if he wasn't capable of helping with the heavy lifting, he at least wanted to be present. Weyl had rolled their eyes and sat him down on the porch with a tall glass of medicated tea and told him to 'act lazy'. Rythian wouldn't have obeyed, except that every time he stood to go to the bathroom, his legs wobbled beneath him and he had to brace a hand on the wall to balance as he made the trip.

Weyl had explained that he'd be feeling better as soon as his blood replenished itself. That the problem was that his reduced blood volume meant his muscles weren't receiving as much oxygen and couldn't get enough energy. Which was obvious once it had been pointed out, but failed to account for the atrophy Rythian had suffered from his confinement and poor diet while imprisoned. Not that Weyl knew how long Rythian had been captive. They probably had an idea -- they were a doctor -- but if they didn't ask Rythian had no intention of explaining. He'd rather not think about it, instead focusing on how much work he had ahead of him to get himself back into shape.

He missed his sword. He hoped he'd be able to get it back from the labs, one day.

"Are they done yet? I'm bored out of my mind."

Rythian twitched with surprise at Lalnable's voice. How out of it was he that he hadn't noticed any footsteps, or the door opening? Well, from what he'd understood about Lalnable's previous escape attempts, he probably had a lot of practice sneaking around. Still, Rythian should have been paying more attention to his surroundings.

"I think they're tying up the last of the packs now. We'll probably be leaving in under an hour."

"Okay." Lalnable sat down on the floor beside the chair and leaned back against the wall, laying his damp cloth over his eyes. "Let me know if something interesting happens."

"What would be interesting?" Rythian asked against his better judgement.

Lalnable shrugged. "One of the mules kicks them? A box falls over on them? Wild animal attack? Sexy lady walks by? I dunno. I assume you're not some weird sort of android and you actually have some sort of basic concept about what's interesting." He lifted a corner of the cloth to give Rythian a squinty look. "You're not an android, right?" He sounded like he didn't really believe it, but was willing to admit it was a possibility.

Rythian snorted. "As far as I'm aware? No. Somehow I doubt androids would have my skill with wielding magic. I imagine they're not powerful magicians."

"And you are?" Lalnable dropped the cloth back on his face. "Kind of surprising, but if you say so."

"What, you were expecting a long beard and a pointy hat?" Rythian amused himself for a moment with the mental image of himself dressed up in a silly wizard costume. It would be purple, he decided. With little silver moons and stars scattered across it. He would have an enormous staff carved of wood, with a large, polished ender pearl at its tip for channeling magic. The beard would cover his face so he would no longer need to wear a mask or scarf.

Rythian paused, jerking a hand up in front of his face. His hot breath wrapped around his fingers and he scowled at himself. Lalnable had his face cloth lifted again, and was opening his mouth to say something. Rythian waved his other hand to shush him, wrestling down the anger he felt at himself for not realizing earlier. He took a deep breath to calm a bit before grumbling, "I'm going to need a scarf."

Lalnable looked confused. "It's not that cold, and it's going to get pretty warm by noon. You'll just take it off anyway."

"No." Rythian shook his head. "Not for the cold, but to cover up this." He gestured to his face. "Who's going to want to see it?" _And even if no one else is on the road, I'll feel better if I'm covered._

Lalnable's expression was still confused, but now there was something else in it Rythian couldn't read. "You look fine."

Rythian didn't bother arguing against the flattery. Lalnable's opinion didn't matter; Rythian knew what he looked like. No doubt the _scientist_ would have no problem with even worse things. He'd probably _created_ worse things.

Pressing his hands down against the chair's armrests, Rythian began the process of standing up. He had to ask Weyl if they had a scarf or something he could wear. The porch didn't really have a railing; there was nothing to hold onto while he walked. The mules were some twenty feet or so from the house while Weyl was tying down the supplies. Rythian's wobbling legs would make it difficult, but if he took it slowly, he could manage.

A hand wrapped around his good arm, firm and powerful. It hadn't been something Rythian had really paid attention to before, in the chaos of trying to escape, but Lalnable was much stronger than his soft, round appearance would suggest. For some lab jockey -- staying indoors all the time peering into microscopes -- he had a lot of muscle hiding under the surface. Rythian opened his mouth to tell him off. _Don't stop me._

Lalnable spoke first. "Here, let me help." He adjusted his grip until his arm was supporting, instead of restraining. "We should get you some crutches or something."

"I don't need them." Rythian considered trying to shake Lalnable off, but if he'd had the strength for it he wouldn't have any problem making the walk on his own. This would be faster. Rythian swallowed his pride, ignoring the way it burned down his throat. "Thank you."

\--- --- ---

You climb up clumsily onto the loaded mule. It would have been tricky even without the stabbing pain at the back of your skull that's making it difficult to concentrate on anything. Weyl's lending a steadying hand though, which helps enormously. His little apprentice is over making sure Rythian isn't going to fall off his own mule.

It's a little uncomfortable being wedged carefully between all the packages strapped to the animal, but you think you can get used to it. Experimentally, you lean back against the chest tied over the mule's butt. It starts to shift under your weight, and you straighten again. Seems like laying back and resting is out of the question. At least for you. Rythian is sagging in his saddle, looking even paler with the sun directly on his skin.

You wonder if he'll manage to survive the trip. He's been stubborn so far, but before the doctor got him all bandaged up he'd had a gash in him reminiscent of the average ravine. You've seen a lot of folks bleeding out back in the labs; you've caused a few cases of it personally. It would be a shame if it happened to Rythian though, he's been fun and he helped you get out. You try to comfort yourself with the thought that if he doesn't make it, you can do experiments with his body. He'd probably object to the idea but honestly what else would you do -- leave him to rot in a hole in the ground? What a waste. Now you're sad.

He glances back at you, and you give him a little wave to let him know you're doing alright and are ready to go. It's a bit of a lie, the sunlight feels like needles in your eyes, and if you catch any shadows at the edge of your vision, they seem to shift and move like grass in the wind. Your thoughts still feel slow and keep tripping over themselves. And everything is too loud. It's always too loud, but it's been worse today. The morning birdsong drills into your skull, splitting you open and making you wish you had something to kill the bastards with. Maybe you should have raided the labs' ground floor weapons storage while you were passing through. Why hadn't you?

Wait, you did pick up a weapon. What happened to it? You'll need that when you get out of town, in case there's bandits or security patrols or something. Xephos has been stepping up remote security lately, and this was well within the second-degree security range outside the labs. You pat down your pockets, then feel stupid because you _know_ you haven't even handled the gun this morning, let alone put it anywhere.

You look over to where Weyl is tying the unburdened mule together with the one Rythian is riding. "Hey, Weyl?"

He waves a hand in a vague "wait a minute" gesture and finishes his knot before wandering over to you. "Yes?"

"What happened to the gun I had? I should have it ready in case-" You stop, pressing a hand over your eyes. The sun is just _too damn much_. Where did that rag go? It was getting too warm and dry to do much, but you could send the apprentice off to go dip it in the sink again. She was pretty quiet, but definitely seemed obedient -- a good trait for an assistant. Not like the girl Xephos had dumped on the sucker you were cloned from. Last you heard, she-

Your thoughts cut short as your brain stabs itself again. As you mutter foul implications against the whims of evolution under your breath, a finger taps your shoulder. You peek between your fingers to see Weyl holding out a pale blue scarf, as thin and light as the red one he'd given Rythian earlier. You don't understand what Rythian's problem with his face is, but that's his issue. For you, a scarf makes perfect sense now that it's been pointed out to you. You feel silly for missing a fix that's so obvious.

You carefully bend down and allow Weyl to tie the fabric over your eyes. He attaches it loosely, which is good because you're sure a tight knot would only worsen your already miserable headache. You mumble a thanks and sit back up. You can still see, a little. You're glad you'll be riding. It's still going to be exhausting, but at least you won't have to watch where you're going; you wouldn't be able to see your own feet like this. But it dims the light, and that helps.

Weyl takes the reins of your mule and you're started on your journey.

\--- --- ---

The sun beat down on Rythian's face, sweat soaking through his bangs and dripping down his forehead. The spring sun was crueler than it had any right to be; with no breeze to sweep away the heat, the sun was baking his skin. He swiped at his face in an attempt to keep the sweat out of his eyes, already feeling the ghost of an itch at the thought of the sunburn he was going to have later. At least his neck and the lower part of his face were covered. He sat up a moment to stretch, then lowered himself back onto the sacks tied over the mule's neck. He wondered if the load bothered the animal; if it did, the mule wasn't showing any sign of it. It plodded after Lalnable's mule, which Weyl was leading along the slightly muddy main road.

Rythian let his eyes drift half-shut, watching Lalnable through his lashes. The scientist had actually been fairly well behaved so far, though Rythian didn't want to give him too much credit. Yesterday he'd been at the mercy of the security team, and hadn't had a chance to do anything terrible to them. Would he have if he'd had the opportunity? Rythian didn't know, and he didn't want to assume that Lalnable was "safe" now.

He hadn't hurt Weyl while Rythian was unconscious… but it would take a bigger fool than Lalnable to injure a doctor who was in the middle of helping one of your allies. Just because Lalnable was crazy and dangerous, didn't mean he was _stupid_.

Rythian huffed an annoyed sigh at himself. Once they were safe on the southern continent, out of Xephos' long, cruel reach, Rythian would turn Lalnable over to the local police force. Let them figure out what should be done with the man. That was their job, and Rythian wouldn't want to have it for all the gold in Minecraftia.

 _Minecraftia…_ Rythian wished he knew where his home country was. This land almost looked like it. The road they traveled wound through soft rolling hills covered in apple oaks and birch trees. A splash of color here and there marked patches of poppies and dandelions and the occasional Vazkii's Flower -- which were few, but so near a village that made sense. Weyl alone had probably harvested most of the plants for their potions. There wasn't a great deal of wildlife, but a feral chicken scratched in the sand at the edge of a small pond, hunting for grain or insects.

It hurt, knowing he'd have to leave this place that was so familiar for unknown lands. It hurt, knowing that however familiar it was, this wasn't actually his home. It hurt, knowing that his friends probably thought he was dead, or worse -- had abandoned them.

He must have made some sort of noise without realising, because Lalnable had turned to look back at him, his scarf lifted from his eyes. Lalnable leaned over in his saddle, muttering something Rythian couldn't make out, and Weyl nodded.

"I believe this would be a good time for us to break for a while." Weyl said, stepping off the path to a nearby oak and starting to tie the mule's lead around the trunk.

Rythian raised a hand to the horizon and counted out finger widths. "We've only been going for an hour and a half. It's too early to stop now." He wasn't that tired, he didn't need to be coddled.

Weyl glanced at him, a knowing smile sliding across their features for a moment. "Well, that is very easy to say if you have been spending this time on the back of a mule. Alas, my poor feet are beginning to complain." Weyl came up and took the lead on Rythian's mule and added it into the knot. The mules, realizing they weren't going anywhere for a bit, lowered their heads and began nibbling greedily at the soft spring grasses under the tree.

Rythian narrowed his eyes at Weyl. It was obvious that he was being humored, but what could Rythian say? That Weyl was lying about being tired and sore? He scowled, but took Weyl's offered hand and let himself be helped down to the ground. Lalnable appeared at his other side, reaching out to take his elbow. _No, not that arm!_ Rythian flinched away, falling against Weyl's chest. _Don't try to help!_

Lalnable didn't seem to catch the message, his eyes widening as Rythian pulled away. _No, you idiot, don't-_ His hand clamped onto Rythian's left arm, and Rythian gasped in pain, his vision greying out. Under Rythian, Weyl struggled to maintain their balance. Rythian couldn't catch himself; they were falling and Lalnable was trying to pull Rythian to his feet and his arm felt like it was being ripped apart.

Rythian gulped at the air, trying to get control over his voice. "Let go!" He couldn't manage more than a squeak, but it worked. Lalnable abruptly released him, stepping back with an alarmed expression, leaving Rythian and Weyl to collapse on the grass.

"Shit! Um... wrong arm I guess?"

Rythian wished he could flip the twit off, but his arm was on fire and wouldn't move the way he wanted it to. Weyl was trying to get out from under him, and even though they were going slowly and carefully, each jostle and push left Rythian gasping and gritting his teeth to stop himself from crying out.

It took far too long for Weyl to manage to get free and sit up beside him. They gave Lalnable the glare Rythian wished he could, and with a stern voice ordered, "Bring me the green bag on the side of the mule you were riding."

Lalnable shuffled away, hunched over and wringing his hands. Weyl sighed as they gently picked up Rythian's injured arm. Rythian almost bit his tongue when Weyl turned it, ever so slowly and carefully, their fingers brushing lightly against Rythian's skin; even that soft touch felt like Weyl was clawing him open. Rythian found himself holding his breath and forced himself to exhale. Weyl's fingers pulled away, and Rythian stared blankly at the red-smeared hand Weyl held up.

"Your skin has been torn. You're not bleeding heavily, but I cannot leave this open." Weyl's expression was grim, and Rythian took a shaky breath.

"Okay." Rythian remembered the taste of the potion Weyl had given him the day before. He'd take it again if he had to, it wasn't unbearable, but he knew that wasn't Weyl's intention. Weyl had seemed competent so far, and that potion had obviously contained dried Dwarf's Ear fungus. Which was incredibly easy to overdose on, and with Rythian's current body weight… they couldn't risk it. "I understand."

Lalnable slunk back, head low, doing a remarkably apt impression of an alley mongrel who's been shouted away from the bins again. He held out a head-sized bag the color of rock moss after a rain, and Weyl set it on their lap and started digging through it. Rythian pushed his good arm against the ground and, ignoring Weyl's chastising look, forced himself upright until he could sit with his back against the tree trunk.

Lalnable was hovering behind Weyl, shifting from foot to foot and almost vibrating. Rythian glared at him. "Go sit down before you screw anything else up." Lalnable flinched, then turned and slunk away, dropping himself against the trunk of a nearby birch and sulking. Rythian forced down his swelling anger. He couldn't spare the energy to set Lalnable's hair on fire, however much he wanted to. It was ridiculous! Having the audacity to look put upon after being such an utter idiot and tearing Rythian's arm open? Rythian almost regretted helping Lalnable out of his cell. If that place was just a little less evil, Rythian would be tempted to send him back.

Weyl pulled out their suture needles and a roll of catgut, as well as a small bottle of orange liquid, which they rubbed onto a needle and length of catgut. Rythian rolled his eyes back and stared at the branches hanging above him. "Will you need something to bite while I close your wound?" Weyl asked, holding up a strip of leather they probably kept for that exact purpose.

"Yeah, Lalna's hand sounds good." Rythian grumbled, glaring at the man in question, who winced and tried to offer a sheepish smile. Rythian only narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to let Weyl slip the leather between his teeth. He clamped down on it, turning away from Lalnable's pained expression -- as if he'd been hurt worse than he'd hurt Rythian, ha! -- and Weyl nodded and took Rythian's arm again.

"I apologize that I cannot give you any painkillers."

Rythian offered half a shrug with his good shoulder. He knew Weyl couldn't. Everything they had would either thin Rythian's blood, which he couldn't afford, or would react with the Dwarf's Ear. Throwing up for three to five days straight wouldn't be any better than bleeding out in the end. Rythian focused on keeping his arm relaxed as Weyl, needle in hand, set to closing the tear.

\--- --- ---

All of their stops for the rest of the day were overcast with a dark silence. Lalnable kept glancing at Rythian, and flinching when Rythian caught his look and glared back. Weyl ignored them both, focusing instead on keeping the mules comfortable.

The sun had fallen to the horizon as they entered the birch forest, and the trees seemed to suck the light away. Weyl lit a flashlight and led them along the road, stopping at the occasional fallen branch to throw it off into the woods.

"We are nearly there." Weyl's face was no longer visible in the gloom, but they sounded like they were frowning. "I apologize that we did not get here before dusk."

Rythian would have commented on the length of their rest breaks, but honestly, he was beginning to appreciate them. He was unreasonably tired. Or perhaps it was perfectly reasonable after all; he kept forgetting what terrible shape he was in. He ran his good hand up the sleeve of his injured arm and carefully touched a finger to his newest bandage. He hissed at the stab of pain, and removed his hand; it came away bloody. The bandage probably should have been changed at the last stop, but Rythian refused to let Weyl spend any more time there. Now the sleeve would be stained, and everyone could tell at a glance that he was wounded.

 _You're getting sloppy, Rythian. Too much time locked up and you've forgotten such simple things?_ Rythian's jaw was tight, and he concentrated on not grinding his teeth together. Weyl had turned towards him, shadows covering their expression, but Lalnable hadn't seemed to notice Rythian's slip, and Rythian wasn't going to draw his attention to it.

They came around a bend in the path, entering a clearing to find a tiny cottage squatting in the center of it. The thatch was frayed, and some of the stones were shiny and lacked the moss of the rest -- obviously replaced. A giant patch of strawberry plants had overrun the sides of the building and, Rythian would hazard a guess, behind it as well. He caught himself wishing it was later in the year already. A fat, juicy strawberry would be a perfect treat to help him feel better about today. But there were only a few early blossoms, nothing but the promise of the strawberries they could become.

Rythian was startled out of his daydream of fresh fruit when Lalnable pushed the door of the cottage open and peered inside, then jerked back with a yelp of, "Spider!" and fell on his ass. Rythian's good hand reached for a sword that wasn't there. He glanced at Weyl. _Do they have a weapon?_

Weyl stepped around Lalnable to have their own look into the building. They leaned inside; Rythian tried not to hold his breath, expecting the monster to leap out of the darkness and attack at any moment. Weyl stood up again, his hands cupped together. "There is no need for concern, it is only a common yellowback. They do not bite unless pressed."

Rythian stared blankly as Weyl carried the egg-sized spider to the edge of the clearing and left it among the tree roots, then he slowly turned to Lalnable and raised an eyebrow.

"It startled me, okay?" Lalnable was brushing bits of grass and dirt off his pants. "It was right in my face!"

Rythian snorted. _Imagine getting scared by a spider smaller than your own head._ Lalnable started to pout, then winced and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Are you-" Rythian cut himself off. He knew what was wrong. _And why should I be concerned about him? I shouldn't waste my sympathy._ Rythian held his tongue while Lalnable lowered his scarf over his eyes and leaned against his mule.

Weyl had gone into the cottage again, and came out with a stick wrapped in old webbing. They took that to the edge of the clearing as well, before coming back and laying a hand on Lalnable's shoulder. "I will need your help unloading the mules."

Lalnable groaned, but lifted his scarf again, squinting and flinching as Weyl untied bags and boxes and passed them to Lalnable to be carried inside. It was going to be a tight fit, Rythian judged, glancing from the mules to the cottage and back. Were there beds, or would they be sleeping on rolls on the floor? Rythian thought he remembered sleeping bags somewhere in the heaps of stuff on the mules, but he'd dozed off a couple times while everything was being packed and he wasn't sure.

Once Rythian was helped down from his mule and entered the cottage, he could see he had been right about the size. There was one bed on the back wall, near a tiny fireplace with a young flame growing inside it. Weyl guided Rythian over to the bed and sat him down on the thin mattress which had been part of Lalnable's load. Rythian held his hands out towards the fire, soaking in the heat and the crackling natural magic it was generating. He hadn't realized how cold it had been getting since the sun set, nor how much his magic had been drained keeping him functional through the recent trials -- and his injuries -- until the fire had granted him some small measure of relief.

Was he not collecting enough loose magic from the life around him? He must have gotten out of practice from being contained in such a magic-barren environment for so long. He was disturbed by how refreshing it was to just take in the flames, when it should have been a habit that would neither require nor catch his attention. Still, it _was_ nice, and Rythian wasn't going to dismiss this fleeting pleasure while he waited for Weyl to finish getting everything stowed away.

Rythian let a tongue of flame curl around his fingers, almost like something alive, and perhaps curious. He shifted the heat to prevent it from cooking his skin, casting it harmlessly upward, leaving only the magic to sink in and energize his flagging reserves.

A gasp startled him out of his focus, and he jerked his hand out of the fire. Weyl's eyes were wide, and Rythian's throat tightened. Was this too far? Was Weyl one of those cold souls who hated magic? Would they turn him back in?

Weyl laid a hand softly on his shoulder, and spoke in a low voice, "You did not say that you were a mage."

Rythian considered saying a dozen different things. Excuses, denials, threats... all came to mind and were dismissed. He scanned Weyl's face and all he could make out was surprise and worry. The hand on his shoulder was warm, and heavy. He took a breath, and said only, "I am."

Weyl glanced towards the open door; in the gloom outside Lalnable was still unloading the mules, his grunts of effort punctuated by whimpers and whines of pain. "Does your companion know this?" Rythian nodded. "You must tell him not to share this knowledge. And be careful who else you choose to share it with. I do not know where you were from before that place had you, but there are places in the south where to wield magic is... not encouraged. The penalties for being found to use it are steep, and the blades to enforce these penalties are sharp."

Rythian felt the faint trickle of the fire's energy still feeding into him. To avoid using magic was like avoiding breathing. How could he not? _Just because I use magic, doesn't mean I have to be obvious. Part of being truly powerful is knowing when not to show it. I can hide. I can lie. I've done so before._ "I won't let anyone know."

Weyl nodded, then turned away. "I will be outside making supper. I will change your bandage after we have eaten. I would advise you to lie down and rest for now."

Rythian let out a complaining grunt, but settled himself onto the bed. It wasn't even half as comfortable as the bed in Weyl's basement, but it was still boundless luxury when compared to a scrap of cloth on a concrete floor. He relaxed for a nap, trying not to fall completely asleep.

Rythian hadn't fully considered what it meant that the cottage had only one bed, until Lalnable dropped down beside him.

"Wha-?" Rythian muttered, too drowsy to make a more strenuous complaint.

"Weyl says he'll take the floor." Lalnable wiggled his way into place, the bed barely big enough for the two of them. His back pressed against Rythian's, burning like a furnace. It was undeniable that this would keep him warm though the night as much as the fire would. _But would I prefer the cold?_ Rythian grumbled a little, then sighed heavily and tried to relax again. A scent drifted through the air, something akin to a spiced stew, Rythian thought, and it was making his stomach twist up in hunger.

Lalnable started squirming again, and Rythian growled and sat up. He could ask Weyl how the food was coming along. It was better than getting jostled around by the lumox he had to share a bed with.

Lalnable moaned and Rythian froze, turning around slowly, only to find his suspicions immediately confirmed. Lalnable had pulled his cock out and was stroking himself as if Rythian wasn't _right there_. He moaned again, bucking in his hand, and Rythian swayed up onto his feet and bolted for the door. He shut it firmly on the way out, and would have slammed it if he didn't think that might rip it off its decrepit hinges.

Weyl looked up from the campfire they were nursing. Beside them, on top of a small box, were three stacked bowls. There was a small cauldron hung from a tree branch over the fire, bubbling with some chunky fluid that smelled incredibly delicious. Rythian sat himself beside it, welcoming the distraction. "How soon?"

"Perhaps another twenty minutes or so. Possibly sooner." Weyl's gaze flicked briefly to the door, which had been open until Rythian had come through. "In this situation, I will not hold you in poor favor for having declined to follow my instruction to rest."

Rythian refused to reply to that. "Why cook outside?"

"I did not wish to disturb you." Weyl sunk a ladle into the probably-stew and gave it a bit of a stir. "Also, it is good manners to offer the smoke and smell to the local spirits to thank them for using their land."

Rythian looked around at the trees, but saw only shadows and smoke. "I thought you said you put on a show of being a mystic. I hadn't imagined you for the sort of person who actually... made offerings."

Weyl shrugged. "Sometimes we do not need to lie to deceive, only to exaggerate. How much is truth and how much is not, I never found it needed explaining. And also, I did not need to go out of my way for this, I only needed offer the parts we did not plan to eat ourselves. Why not? They would only have gone to waste."

Rythian watched the smoke drift away between the trees, threading its way delicately around bone-white branches, then diffusing into nothingness. "I don't believe in spirits."

"Not a common thing to hear from a mage." Weyl dipped his ladle into the stew and gave it a sip. "It will be ready soon."

Rythian let the silence stand for a while, holding it comfortably. It was... nice. He missed being able to have these quiet moments with someone, where nothing was happening and nothing really needed to be said. But he had to know, so he had to ask, "Why are you helping him?"

Weyl's eyes flicked briefly to the cottage door. "Hm?" they raised an eyebrow at Rythian.

"He's...not a good person. I don't- I wouldn't send him back there. But... I would understand if you wanted nothing to do with him." _You seem to know more about him than I do. Have I only seen the worst of him? Maybe he's only been twisted and corrupted by that place, and he's not normally... like this._

Weyl set the ladle down beside the bowls. "Do you believe in revenge?"

Rythian narrowed his eyes. Was he about to get a lecture on forgiveness and second chances? "I do."

"Then you should understand this," Weyl folded their hands together, turning away from Rythian to gaze off into the night. "My parents were killed in that place. I was only just old enough to live on my own, and I have never been told of how they died, only that they had." Weyl shook their head. "It may even have been your companion who killed them. I help many workers who are not important enough to be treated by the doctors on site. I hear many rumors of things that happen in that place. He has killed many, many people."

Rythian ran a hand through his fringe, resisting the urge to yank. "Then why? Why help him? I just wanted to get him to a normal prison that doesn't _torture_ people, but you're just planning to send us on our way and why would you let him escape?"

Weyl sighed. "If you had a child, and it visited the neighbor's house and was attacked by their dog, would you blame the dog, or the neighbor?"

"Er..." Rythian could kind of see that perspective, but... "He's not a dog. He can think about what he's doing. He _chose_ to murder people."

"Yes." Weyl shrugged as if that didn't matter. Rythian couldn't understand how they weren't _angry_ about any of it. "But still, I imagine a dog so quick to bite must have been treated poorly, and given a kind hand and a choice, would rather bite the one who was cruel to it."

Rythian held his tongue while he processed this. "You expect he'll want to get revenge." Rythian could see the attraction himself. It would be cathartic to see that place burn to the ground. To put his sword through Xephos' gut and watch him writhe on the floor in his own intestines. To prove that he was _stronger_ than anyone who thought they could hurt him.

"It is a possibility." Weyl picked the ladle back up, and gave the soup another sip. "This is done now."

"Good, I'm starving!" Rythian's entire body twitched in shock at Lalnable's voice. He turned, watching as Lalnable dropped himself down on the grass next to Rythian. "What is it, stew?"

"It is mepske. It could be called a stew." Weyl ladled it out into the bowls, passing them to Rythian and Lalnable. "It is usually made with fresh beef. I have had to substitute meat that has been dried and salted. It may require a bit of chewing."

Rythian took a bite and began chewing. And chewing. Yeah, that was some tough meat. But the flavor was wonderful, and he swallowed and spooned more into his mouth. Lalnable was making lewd noises around his own mouthful. Did he always do that, or was it because the food in that place had all been so terrible? Rythian had been given mainly gruel and the occasional old fruit that was hours from going bad. But he'd been in a concrete cell, whereas Lalnable had a fairly posh setup by comparison. Surely he'd had food to match?

The noises Lalnable was making were far too similar to the ones that had driven Rythian out of the cottage, and in his desperation to get the mental images out of his head, he asked, "It's a nice change, isn't it?"

"I know!" Broth dribbled down Lalnable's chin as he spoke without stopping to swallow. "You have no _idea_ how boring raw meat gets after half a year of the stuff. It doesn't matter how juicy the stuff is, you just get tired of it." He licked curiously at something that vaguely resembled a potato, and then wrapped his lips around it and sucked it up. "This is cooked, and has _spices_. It's amazing!"

Rythian didn't want to ask. He really, really didn't. "They fed you... raw meat?"

"Nah, but they kept trying to give me drugs, and so I just ate the delivery men. I mean, you think they'd give up after the first few times and just let me have a normal undrugged sausage, but I think Xephos was using me to get rid of workers he wanted vanished, y'know?" Lalnable cut off his rambling to gnaw at a particularly chewy bit of beef.

Rythian grimaced. It was appalling the way Lalnable just... casually referred to eating a person. He didn't show any shame, or guilt, or remorse. Rythian glanced at Weyl. _This is who you want to carry out your revenge? This madman? Aren't you at all worried about collateral damage? Or about who he'll hurt between now and trying to get that revenge?_

Weyl didn't respond. Not even with a flick of an eyebrow. They only sat and ate their mepske quietly. Rythian scowled and turned back to Lalnable, who was waving his spoon in a clear attempt to grab attention as he swallowed his latest mouthful.

"I thought I had them. Just a couple weeks ago, I sabotaged their main stock of sedatives. Poured most of them down the floor drains and had some fun with the rest. I bet it took days for those guards to wake up after their stomachs got pumped. But they must have had some elsewhere as a backup, because they didn't even miss a day in my dose once they caught me again."

 _No shame at all_. Rythian turned away and focused on his mepske. Just ignore it. Lalnable could say as many horrible things as he wanted. Once they were on the south continent, Rythian would turn him in and he wouldn't be dangerous to anyone ever again. As long as it was just words, as long as it was things he'd done in the past, not things he was planning to do... Rythian could wait. And if he felt a bit of vicious glee at the thought of his captors suffering? That was only natural. He wasn't going to act on his feelings. That was the difference between them.

Rythian poured the dregs of his mepske down his throat, licking his lips and savoring the last fading bits of flavor and the warmth in his stomach. "I'm going to bed." He waved Weyl off as they started to stand up, and tottered his way over to the cottage. He laid a hand on the wall and, after a moment's thought, went around behind the cottage first. He fumbled with his pants until he got his cock out, and had a quick piss before turning back and heading inside.

The fireplace had died to embers, but it had done its job; the cottage was warm. It was warm enough that when Rythian dropped into bed, he didn't bother grabbing his blanket and covering himself. Outside, he could hear the others' voices, not quite loud enough to pick out any words. He considered trying to listen in, but he was just... so very tired. Rythian's eyes closed.

=== === ===


End file.
